Garrett says Orton made ‘bad decisions’ on interceptions

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the two interceptions thrown by backup quarterback Kyle Orton in Saturday’s 12-7 loss to Arizona boiled down to the veteran making bad decisions.

“Kyle is a veteran quarterback who typically sees the field very well,” Garrett said. “He’s typically pretty clean with the ball. He has a good understanding of our offense. Those are bad decisions, though.”

Orton was 4 of 8 for 36 yards with the two picks. His passer rating was a dismal 22.9.

In addition to Tony Romo, who was 7 of 10 for 142 yards for a 112.5 passer rating, and Orton, the Cowboys used Alex Tanney. The first-year pro from Monmouth played all of the second half, finishing 14 of 19 for 136 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Tanney’s TD pulled the Cowboys within 9-7 early in the fourth quarter. His interception sealed the loss with 1:40 left.
The other QB on the roster, Nick Stephens, didn’t play.

“We just wanted to see Alex play,” Garrett said. “He got here late and Nick Stephens got a lot of work in the offseason. We’ve tried to be pretty balanced with those guys over the first couple weeks of the preseason. We just wanted to see Alex play a little bit more.

“I thought he played well. He moved around, made some big runs for first downs at different times…For the most part, he handled the situation well and made a lot of plays for us.”